Interest Groups

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Interest Groups

• Parties, Interest Groups, and PACS

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Imagine a person with an intense devotion to a
social cause
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Lets say that he or she believes strongly in
animal rights, or is distressed about the
deteriorating environment
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Or think of someone else whose work is seriously
undervalued, who works very hard but is paid very
little money
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What can any of these imagined people do to
improve their situation?
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One solution is to start or join a group with
similar interests, with the idea that people
together can do more to bring about change than
people alone
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They could organize an interest group to put
pressure for change on elected officials policy
makers on all levels of government
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Interest Group

• Organization of people who enter the political
  process to try to achieve their shared goals

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Interest Group

• Almost from the beginning, Americans have
  distrusted their motives and methods of influence

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James Madison

• Called interest groups and political parties
  factions
• Saw federalism separation of powers as
  necessary to control their evils

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Interest Groups

• Since the number of interest groups people who
  participate in them have increased greatly over
  the past half century, they appear to be even
  more important today than they have been in the
  past

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Parties, Interest Groups, PACS

• Interest groups, like political parties, are
  organizations that exist outside the structure of
  government
• But they interact with government in such a way
  that it is impossible to separate them

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Parties, Interest Groups, PACS

• Policy making is intertwined with both parties
  interest groups so that government would operate
  very differently without them

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Parties, Interest Groups, PACS

• In recent years a third type of outside
  organization, called political action committees
  (PACs) have joined parties interest groups as a
  major influence on policy making in this country

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Parties vs. Interest Groups

• Parties interest groups have a great deal in
  common
• They represent political points of view of
  various people who want to influence policy making

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Parties vs. Interest Groups

• This similarity has led some observers to suggest
  that interest groups may someday even replace
  parties as linkage institutions to the electorate

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Parties vs. Interest Groups

• However, some significant differences still exist

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Parties vs. Interest Groups

• (1) Parties influence government primarily
  through the electoral process

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Parties vs. Interest Groups

• Although they serve many purposes, parties always
  run candidates for public office
• Interest groups an PACs support candidates, but
  they do not run their own slate of candidates

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Parties vs. Interest Groups

• (2) Parties generate and support a broad spectrum
  of policies interest groups support one or a few
  related policies

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Parties vs. Interest Groups

• Whereas a party may take a position on gun
  control, business regulations, campaign finance
  reform U.S. involvement in conflicts abroad, an
  interest group almost always focuses on one area

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PACS

• Political and money-raising arms of interest
  groups
• Legally entitled to raise voluntary funds to
  contribute to favored candidates or political
  parties

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PACS

• Like political parties, PACs focus on influencing
  election results, but their interest in the
  candidates is narrowly based because they are
  almost always affiliated with particular interest
  groups

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PACS

• Number has increased substantially over the past
  30 years
• Especially since the Campaign Reform Act of 1974
  (limits individual contributions to campaigns)

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PACS

• This act did allow PACs to exist
• Most large interest groups formed them as ways to
  direct (funnel) money to their favorite
  candidates for office

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PACS

• Today more than 4000 PACs represent
• Corporations
• Labor unions
• Professional trade associations

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PACS

• Biggest explosion or number has been in the
  business world
• More than half represent corporations or other
  business interests

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Are interest groups good or bad for American
politics?
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Interest Groups

• Different points of view can be separated into 3
  theories with different answers to that question

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Theories of Interest Group Politics

• (1) Elitist Theory
• (2) Pluralist Theory
• (3) Hyper pluralist theory

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Elitist Theory

• Argues that just a few interest groups have most
  of the power
• Although many groups exist, most of them have no
  real power

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Elitist Theory

• Government is run by a few big groups trying to
  preserve their own interests

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Elitist Theory

• An extensive system of interlocking directorates
  (the same people sitting on several boards of
  corporations, foundations, and foundations)
  fortifies the control

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Elitist Theory

• Believe that corporate interests control many
  government decisions

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Elitist Theory

• Theory strikes at the heart of democracy
• If only a few groups control the political
  system, how can true democracy exist?

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Pluralist Theory

• Claims that interest groups benefit American
  democracy by bringing representation to all

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Pluralist Theory

• According to pluralists, interest groups have
  many benefits

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Pluralist Theory Benefits

• (1) Groups provide linkage between people
  government they allow peoples voices to be
  heard in many ways that otherwise would be lost

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Pluralist Theory Benefits

• (2) the existence of many groups means that any
  one group cant become too powerful because
  others counterbalance it

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Pluralist Theory Benefits

• (3) Groups usually follow the rulesthose that
  dont get bad publicity that helps to keep them
  in line

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Pluralist Theory Benefits

• (4)No one set of groups dominates because those
  weak in one area are strong in another

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Pluralist Theory Benefits

• For example--although business interest groups
  usually have more money, labor groups have more
  members

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Hyper Pluralist Theory

• Claims that too many groups are trying to
  influence the political process
• Negative effects---political chaos
  contradiction among government policies

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Hyper Pluralist Theory

• Believe that the political system is out of
  control because the government tries to please
  every interest allows them to dictate policy in
  their area

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Hyper Pluralist Theory

• Since all interest groups try to protect their
  self-interest, the policies that result from
  their pressure are haphazard ill-conceived

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Growth of Interest Groups

• Interest groups have been part of American
  politics singe the beginning
• Their numbers, however, have grown substantially
  in recent years

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Growth of Interest Groups

• Some well-known groups, such as the Sierra Club
  and the NAACP have existed for a century

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Growth of Interest Groups

• Many interest groups, however, are relatively
  new, with more than half forming after WWII

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Growth of Interest Groups

• Interest groups seems to exist for everyone
• Some are broad-based (National Association of
  Manufacturers) and others are specific (American
  Cricket Growers Assoc)

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Growth of Interest Groups

• Many groups base their organization on economics
• More than 3/4s originated from industrial,
  occupational, or professional membership

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Growth of Interest Groups

• In recent years more groups have moved their
  headquarters to Washington to be as close to the
  source of power as possible

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Growth of Interest Groups

• Today, very few occupations or industries go
  without interest groups to represent them in
  Washington

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Types of Membership

• Membership in interest groups may be classified
  in two ways
• (1) institutional
• (2) individual

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Institutional Interests

• Most represent a business or corporation
• Over 500 hundred firms have lobbyists,
  public-relations experts and/or lawyers in
  Washington
• Most of them opened offices since 1970

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Institutional Interests

• Other institutions represented in Washington are
• Universities
• Foundations
• Governments

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Institutional Interests

• City governments are represented through the
  National League of Cities
• Counties through the National Assoc of Counties
• National Council on Ed speaks for institutions of
  higher learning

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Individual Interests

• Individual Americans are much more likely to join
  religious political associations than are
  citizens in other democracies

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Individual Interests

• Many of the orgs they join are represented in DC
  lobby the government for favorable policies for
  their interest

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Individual Interests

• Many of the largest interest groups have
  individual, not institutional, membership

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Individual Interests

• AARP
• American Federation of Labor
• NAACP
• Sierra Club

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Individual Interests

• Religious organizations are also well-represented
  
• Very influential Christian Coalition